Columbus..the 1957 IH 4x4..

[mongocanfly]

Well this is as close as the bed has been to the truck in quite some time
I'd been putting this move off for awhile now ..mostly due to rain.....hey that's a good excuse ain't it?..Haha
But no , I needed to set the bed back on the frame , i need to mark 2 mounting holes that need drilled in the frame for the bed crossmember, also need to finalize the exhaust, and redo the rear bumper mounts..
For all this to happen ,the bed needed to be in place
1st time either piece has seen the light of day in some time

[mongocanfly]

Together again..!!!!

[Ol Blue K20]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Together again..!!!!

Nice!!!!!

[Ironhorse]

Progress is always a good thing, Greg. Looks more like a truck now,

[mongocanfly]

Thanks Dale and Gary
Spent the day running errands and mowing grass..
Got a few minutes before dark to work on the bumper..
Cut the old frame mounts off , they were 1in thick steel, 10in tall and 16in long...wwwaaayyyy overkill to hold the bumper ..
Then welded up some holes that had been cut in the bumper,
tomorrow before work I'll cut out some new mounts and get it welded up..new mounts will be 1/2" plate...still wwwaayyy overkill, but its what I've got to work with
I've already cut about 4in off each end of the bumper,making it just under 6ft wide, holding it up there it still looks to wide , so I may trim some more off..right now it's as wide as the outside if the fenders

[8man]

I like that truck! Making progress sure feels good.

[mongocanfly]

Thanks Robert!!

Well , I didnt get the bumper mounted, I thought I had a long piece of 1/2×6 flat bar... but what I had was some long pieces 1/2×10 and 1/2×12,,, all the 6in wide stuff was short pieces,as expensive as that wider stuff is ,I couldnt bring myself to start whacking it up..I'll grab some 6in when i go thru town..
So i turned towards the exhaust.. I bought a couple of 30deg bends, then I made exhaust tips by cutting them off so they would be parallel to the ground, got all this cleaned up and welded them on
I also made a cad design for the bumper mounts while I was at it

[8man]

Those wood hangers would worry me. I saw a guy do something similar by cutting off an existing curved pipe. Very creative.

[regan wilson]

That's awesome that the old truck got to see daylight. It is starting to look like a truck again.

[mongocanfly]

Robert, at the rate I'm going, i may need to worry more about termites eating my wood muffler hangers than i would be about them burning...haha
Thatll be fixed...all in good time..
Thanks Regan, it did feel good to see it steer and the brakes work...even if I havnt cranked it yet..

[72 tigger]

Exciting progress!!

[MP&C]

Perfect exhaust.....heard and not seen..

[richard2717]

I saw these caps for sale local and thought of your build but I think they are for half ton

.

[mongocanfly]

Thanks Kirk, Robert, and Richard
I agree Robert, outta sight ,outta mind..
Richard, those caps are for the late 60s, early 70s truck, they came on 1/2 & 3/4t trucks and were different sizes...I gave a lot of thought to using a set, but none will fit my rims..
Stock wheels with caps and large tires is a look that's kinda growing on me...does that mean I'm getting old?..haha

I'm also on the fence about hanging the rear fenders..I was gonna use feltpaper and cut some strips to go between the bedside and fenders for a cushion..
Then I saw where John used reg fender welting on one of the trucks he did..
I ordered some USA made welting, but just not sure about the exposed rubber lip that will outline the fender.. it was metal on metal before..
I may do the felt paper if I dont like the look

[mongocanfly]

So today I got the bumper mounts cut and fit, got the bumper sitting in place on the stands ,but not welded yet.i think I'm gonna leave the length as is...I held a taillight In place, and the bumper sticks past it by a whisker...still got to level it and get the gaps consistent...gonna add a splash guard between the bumper and bed, mostly to just fill in the gap..doing that with some checker plate..gonna mount license plate in the center,so I'll have to make a plate for that as well..

[Ol Blue K20]

Looks good, stout too. It's coming together!

[mongocanfly]

Thaks Dale , if that bumper could talk, oh the stories it could tell...!!!!

I got bumper welded to the mounts and the splash guard fitted and welded in..took a insane amount of time trying to get the guard to fit properly..
From yrs of use and abuse and welding, the 5x5 angle was warped ,twisted, and bent.. I cut the splash guard straight..and of course that dont work ..so I did a lot of "grinding to fit".. but its welded in now..
The ends of the guards I rolled down in a radius, not sure about that look , but with fenders and taillights mounted, itll be harder to see
Just ahead is the license plate mount, and figuring out where I want to mount the backup lights.
I want the lights under the bumper..I have very low profile LEDs for that, did not want them hanging there looking obnoxious..

[mongocanfly]

Got the rest of the little stuff done today..
Drill new holes for front of bed crossmember... check
Mount reverse lights ... check
I tried hiding them as far in as I could..they'll still be visible though..wish I could hide them better..
Fab tag mount... check...
tried to eyeball and make sure the tailgate wont hit it, so I stuck the middle tailgate support in place ..I think itll be fine
The trucks tag is still on display over at Moms house, this old Montana tag will do for a stand-in...
The bumper is now ready to go to the sandblaster...then epoxy and paint..
Cant decide if I want to do the bumper a satin black, or argent silver..
I'm leaning towards black...gotta decide that..

[Ol Blue K20]

Looks good, I like the backup lights. I vote for argent on the bumper.....

[Russell Ashley]

That is a good looking truck already, and it will be doubly cool when you get it finished. That bumper looks sturdy, nice work on that. It needs to be argent in my mind.

[mongocanfly]

Thanks Dale and Russell...
I'm looking at the color the bumper is/was...it was a silver of some sort that me and Dad painted it with yrs ago..I'm kinda leaning back towards the argent myself..
Time will tell

Did a quick little bit tonite after work..got the exhaust hangers installed..
Thankfully nothing moved when I hung it on it's own weight..
I do have one issue I'll need to address before I call in the dogs on it though ..
Theres a little to much swinging and swaying side to side..
I'll have to figure out something to eliminate that..
I've got a idea that ill mock up and see how it does

[regan wilson]

The bumper and exhaust look awesome. I wonder how many knots, bruises and bleeds that bumper has caused.

[mongocanfly]

Thanks Regan.!.. it caused several scars just while I was reinstalling it..!.haha

I know for a fact, if you Bill Dance that hitch, itll put you on the ground!

[regan wilson]

Originally Posted by mongocanfly

Thanks Regan.!.. it caused several scars just while I was reinstalling it..!.haha

I know for a fact, if you Bill Dance that hitch, itll put you on the ground!

Now That's some funny Sh*t!

[mongocanfly]

Well , it looks like I'm back on my hectic work schedule for about the next 6-8 months...
Just got done with a 12 day stretch of 12 hr shifts...1/2 a day off and got 9 more nights to go..
Ughh
So I tried to get a little done today..
Plan was to put both rear fenders on..well with the heat, humidity, and lack of sleep , I only did one..
No easy chore by yourself..but I got it..
I acquired some generic fender welting..its got a 1/4" bead
So I started with laying the fender on my woodworking table and tracing around it..leaving a pattern to go by
The welting doesn't turn corners without kinking, so I punched some 3/8" holes 1" apart, then cut Vs in it so it would flex around the curves